Adoption
by Quite Beautiful Tonight LG
Summary: When Dumbledore arrives at Privet Drive on Harry Potter's fourth birthday to check up on the boy, he is quite surprised to learn that he hasn't been there in a year. Meanwhile, Maria and Stephen Duncan teach their adopted son what it means to be loved.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm American, and I'm going to use American terms, spelling, and grammar. I'm sorry if this upsets you, but I have no clue how to "write British." Also, sorry for any other inaccuracies. Any relating to child care or adoption or because of time differences. I'm fourteen. I don't know what the, well "time period" makes it sound so long ago, but I guess that's what it was, technically. I assume you know what I'm talking about.**

* * *

The Dursley's had decided that it was a wonderful day to go to the zoo. As it happened though, they had no one to watch their young nephew. He couldn't go to the zoo with them of course, but they also couldn't just leave him at home. The boy was three years old, who knew what could happen?

Eventually, the family decided to take him with them, and leave him in the car. This was what they did, not knowing how that one decision would change the future.

* * *

Maria Duncan and her husband Stephen had decided that it would be a wonderful day to take their children to the zoo. They hadn't been in a while, and there was a new exhibit. Of course, Luke was only two and Max wasn't even a year old, but he could still enjoy it with them somewhat, and six year old Elizabeth was buzzing with excitement.

Stephen Duncan parked the car between two others, and he and his wife took their children out of the car. Elizabeth smiled happily and began skipping around the parking lot. Soon, she started looking in the car windows. Maria sighed, heading over to the girl.

"Look, Mum! There's a little boy in this one." Maria's eyes widened, and she stormed over to the car. Stephen, noticing his wife's anger, quickly grabbed Luke and headed over to her.

"Stephen, look! There's a boy in this car. He can't be any older than Luke!" Stephen tried to calm his wife.

"Maria, I'm sure his parents are right around here. They're probably just going to get year-long passes or something else that would take just a minute. He's asleep. I'm sure they thought it would be easier to leave him for a minute and come back."

"I don't care. That's neglect! I'm calling child services."

"Maria, wait. Calm down. One of us might have done the same thing, maybe not with when the kids were so young, but it's not unreasonable. Why don't you just wait a minute and see if they come back."

Maria agreed, and stood by the car, fuming. They waited for fifteen minutes before Elizabeth and Luke got bored. Stephen took them over to a grassy area to play, while Maria continued to wait.

Finally, they realized that no one was coming to see the child. Maria, in a blaze of righteous anger, prepared to call the police. She did not know the number of Child Protective Services off-hand, and she figured that was who she should call instead. Stephen wrote down the license plate number of the car while Maria made the call.

The Dursley's were having a wonderful time, not knowing, of course, that by the end of the day, they would be facing investigations of child neglect. They came out of the zoo to find an angry woman standing by their car.

"Miss, would you please move away? We are trying to leave, and you're fairly close to our car." Vernon Dursley said, keeping up a mask of politeness, though he was quite annoyed with the woman.

"Oh, this is your car, then? No. I won't be leaving. I would like to know, though, who is the TWO-YEAR_OLD?" The Dursley parents paled, realizing what the woman had seen. Dudley Dursley, had no idea of the problem, and decided to try to help the lady.

"Do you mean Harry? He's my cousin." This information rewarded Dudley with a strained smile.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I wanted to know why he was in the car. Do you know?"

"Daddy says Harry's a freak. I'm not sure why." Dudley hadn't noticed his parents' attempts to quiet the boy, and he like the lady. She seemed very nice to him.

Maria grew angrier at the small boy's words, though she smiled at him and thanked him. It wasn't long after that a child protective service worker arrived. By this time Harry woken up, and he and Dudley had begun playing with Elizabeth and Luke. Dudley seemed a little reluctant to play with his cousin at first, but soon the four children were playing happily, an emotion quite different to what the adults were feeling.

* * *

Jennifer Kersten was very new to the job of protective services, and so, she was more upset by the story presented to her than one of her more experienced colleagues might have been. It was decided that she would go to investigate the child's home life the next day, seeing as she had no other work that day.

Before she left, Maria Duncan had asked if she could keep her updated on the young boy. Jennifer hesitated, not certain of the rules in this case, but fairly sure that she wasn't allowed to tell. Maria gave her the family's phone number, just in case.

The next day, Jennifer arrived at number four Privet Drive. Harry had been instructed to inform her that his was the smallest bedroom, the one full of Dudley's old and broken things.

When Jennifer was shown the room, she soon noticed the state of everything there. The Dursley's had cleaned the room somewhat, but it still was not a proper bedroom.

"Harry, why is everything here broken?"

"Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia put all of Dudley's old things here."

"Here? In your bedroom?" Harry squirmed a bit as he replied positively.

"Harry, is this really your room?" Harry shook his head.

"Will you show me your room?" Harry nodded before heading downstairs, and showing Jenny the cupboard where he slept. He explained the chores he did. There weren't many of them, he was only three, but he shouldn't have any chores.

In the end, it didn't matter that Jennifer hadn't told Maria what happened with Harry. There was a small article in the local newspaper about the three-year-old who was taken away from his guardians.

Maria pleaded with her husband to go adopt the young boy they had seen at the zoo. He protested, they had a new baby, they already had three children, but he loved the child, and found that he couldn't quite refuse. Before the year was out, Harry Potter had become a member of the Duncan family.


	2. Chapter 2

Albus Dumbledore walked up to number 4 Privet Drive, prepared to check on Harry Potter. The small boy had been taken there three years before. He was hoping he would find the boy in good conditions. If not, he supposed he would have to find other arrangements, though what those would be, he still wasn't sure.

A child opened the door, a boy about four years old. Dumbledore assumed that this must be Dudley.

"Hello. Could you go get your parents for me? I'd like to see your cousin." The young boy frowned in confusion before calling out to his parents.

"Mum! Daddy! There's a strange man here!"

"Oh! Nick, you can't open the door like that!" A young woman picked up the small boy and turned to Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry. What was it you wanted?"

"I came here to speak to Vernon and Petunia Dursley." The woman's forehead crinkled in thought.

"Oh! You mean the people that lived here before? They moved, sorry. It was a while ago, actually. You didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome. I don't know where they moved, sorry."

"It's perfectly all right. Goodbye." Dumbledore, troubled, walked up the street before Disapparting.

Harry Potter had been taken away from his aunt and uncle a year before that. He had only spent a few days at the temporary foster home when a man and woman came to meet him. Harry thought they looked familiar, but he couldn't quite remember why.

"Hello Harry," the woman said, smiling. "My name is Maria. Can I talk to you?" Harry nodded, who was he to deny the woman? His uncle had taught him to always respect others, especially adults. Plus, this woman seemed very nice. Suddenly, Harry remembered where he had seen her.

"Are you the lady from the zoo?" He asked.

"Yes, I was."

"Okay. I'm Harry." Then he remembered that she had greeted him by name.

"I know. This is Stephen. He wants to see you too."

"Oh! Come in, Sir, Ma'am." He said hastily, eyes widening as he realized he should have said that originally. He hoped they weren't too mad. Harry blinked in surprise. She wasn't angry with him. Was the man? He looked at Stephen worriedly. Stephen smiled back. The three conversed for a while that afternoon, and they fell into a pattern the next few weeks, Harry tentative and shy, but growing more confident as time passed.

Eventually, Maria asked Harry the question she had been planning to for a while.

"Harry. We want to adopt you. Do you like that idea?" Harry's eyes widened. He wasn't quite sure what adoption was, he was only three, but he had a vague idea of what it was. He wasn't sure about doing it though. Maria and Stephen seemed nice, but what if they were mean when he went to their house?

"I-I don't know." Maria noticed the small boy's fear.

"We won't hurt you, I promise," She said, pulling him into a hug. In a moment of bravery, Harry nodded.

"Will you change my name?" Harry asked.

"Only if you want us to."

"I-I think I do. My real mommy and daddy named me Harry, I think, but I don't remember that. Just my uncle."

"Okay."

* * *

A week later, Harry arrived at the household. Almost immediately, he was greeted by two young children, and an older woman holding an infant.

"Hi! I'm Luke! You're Harry." Harry nodded.

"Yes, but your mom and dad gave me a new name. Now, my name is Michael."

"Hi, Michael. I'm Elizabeth! I'm your sister now!" The newly named Michael's eyes widened. He had known that Maria and Stephen had other children, but he had not expected this enthusiastic greeting.

"Um, hi."

"Come meet Grandma and Max! Max is your brother now too, just like Luke."

"Okay." The older woman knelt down toward the boy.

"He's almost a year old. We're going to have a birthday party next week for him. Won't that be fun?" Michael nodded, already planning what he would have to do.

"All right. What will I do? I can put stuff on the table, but I'm not good at wrapping. My hands don't know what to do. Uncle Vernon got mad at me when I tried, and then I didn't get food, but it was okay, 'cause I only missed dinner." He didn't notice the horrified look on his new grandmother's face.

"No, you don't have to do anything for the birthday. You just have to go there and have fun!" Stephen said.

"Here, let's show you your new room," his grandmother spoke up. Michael nodded, before being led up a set of stairs to a bedroom painted blue with a bed and a mattress on the floor with sheets. Michael began to head toward the mattress before being directed toward the bed.

"Oh no, that's Luke's mattress. You two will share a room, and he doesn't like his bed, so he just uses the mattress." Stephen checked the clock on the wall. "Oh, it's getting late! Time for bed. You guys want a bedtime snack?" Michael shook his head, but Luke jumped up excitedly.

"I do!" The family went into the kitchen, where Luke and Elizabeth were each given a cookie. Michael looked toward them enviously.

"Here, Mikey!" Elizabeth broke her cookie in half and handed one half to Michael.

"Thank you, 'Lizabet," Michael said.

"You're welcome, Mikey!" Michael ate his cookie quietly.

"All right, guys, time for bed." Over the next few days, the new family settled into a pattern. There were a few mishaps, including Michael once waking up early and cleaning before being told that was not his job. There was also the instance where Luke began to bore of his new brother's presence.

"When is Mikey go home to him own house?"

Still, overall the new family came together well. Michael was pleasantly surprised to learn that he got to have cake and join in the fun things at Max's birthday party. He grew happier, and somewhat louder as he truly became a part of a family.

* * *

In a small room only entered once a year, no one noticed as the name "Michael James Duncan" appeared on the list of magical children in England.


End file.
